Midžor (Миџор) | |
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Midzhur (Миджур) | |
Picture taken from the Serbian side
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Highest point | |
Elevation | 2,169 m (7,116 ft) |
Prominence | 1,478 m (4,849 ft) |
Coordinates | 43°23′38″N 22°40′54″E / 43.39389°N 22.68167°ECoordinates: 43°23′38″N 22°40′54″E / 43.39389°N 22.68167°E |
Geography | |
Location | Serbia, Bulgaria |
Parent range | Balkan Mountains |
Midžor (Serbian Cyrillic: Миџор, pronounced [mîdʒɔr]) or Midzhur (Bulgarian: Миджур) is a peak in the Balkan Mountains, situated on the border between Serbia and Bulgaria. At 2,169 metres (7,116 ft), it is the highest peak of the Western Balkan Mountains, as well as the highest of Serbia outside Kosovo. Midžor is the 12th highest peak in the Balkan Mountains.
In Bulgaria, the peak is called Midzhur.
Since the early 1990s, it has been accessible to tourists from both sides; previously, access was forbidden due to the peak being in the border area. Due to those restrictions, the nature around the peak has been preserved untouched. On the Bulgarian side, the peak is reachable from the villages of Chuprene and Gorni Lom in Vidin Province.
From Chuprene there are two possibilities for climbing. There is a 17 km dirt road following the river Chprenska to the Gorski Ray refuge (1,450 m) or a 9 km foot track following the river Manastirska.
From the refuge there is a marked track which passes through the Chuprene biosphere reserve and leads to the main summit on a saddle between the peaks Replyanska Tsarkva (1,969 m) and Ostra Chuka (1967 m). To the south east through the peaks Ostra Chuka and Oba (2,033 m) the track reaches a saddle from where the Lom River and the Timok flow out at border stone 336. From there the peak can be climbed from the north-western slope.
At 7 km from the village of Gorni Lom is located the Gorni Lom refuge (840 m). There is also another refuge upstream called Mudzhur. There are steep tracks from there leading to the saddle between Oba and the peak at border stone 336 from where the both tracks from the two villages merge.